This invention relates to a toner replenishing device for replenishing a developing device with a toner in an image forming machine, such as an electrostatic copier, a laser printer, or a facsimile, and a toner cartridge for use in the toner replenishing device.
In an image forming machine, such as an electrostatic copier, a developing device for developing an electrostatic latent image formed on a photoconductor drum is disposed. The developing device applies a toner to the electrostatic latent image to develop it into a toner image. Normally, the toner consumed with the progress of development is supplied from a toner cartridge removably mounted on a mounting portion disposed at a required position of the developing device. When the toner in the toner cartridge has been consumed completely, the toner cartridge is replaced by a new toner cartridge.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-56550 discloses a toner replenishing device in which a toner cartridge accommodating a toner is mounted removably. The toner replenishing device disclosed in this publication has a toner cartridge receiving mechanism disposed in a toner cartridge mounting portion of a machine housing of a copier, and a toner cartridge detachably mounted on the toner cartridge receiving mechanism. The toner cartridge comprises a container body having a toner discharge port, and a shutter member disposed movably between a closing position at which it closes the toner discharge port and an opening position at which it opens the toner discharge port. A mouth-and-neck portion having the toner discharge port is provided at the bottom wall of the container body of the toner cartridge, and a rectangular flange is formed at the lower end of the mouth-and-neck portion. The shutter member is disposed in this flange. In the shutter member, guide grooves are formed in guide portions disposed at both ends of a flat plate portion, and the shutter member is slidably mounted on the flange via each of the guide grooves. A stopper claw portion is disposed in one of the guide portions. The stopper claw portion is composed of a support portion elastically deformable in a direction separated from one side portion of the flange, a guided portion formed from the front end of the support portion toward the one side portion of the flange, and a stopper portion formed from the front end of the support portion toward the outside. A notch portion is formed at the front end of the one side portion of the flange, and when the shutter member is located at the closing position, the guided portion enters the notch portion, and the support portion is not deformed. A sealing member for sealing the toner discharge port is strippably mounted on the lower surface of the flange. A connecting mechanism having a toner accepting opening is disposed in the toner cartridge mounting portion. The connecting mechanism includes a bottom surface portion shared with an upper wall of a development housing, and a pair of side walls protruding upward from bilateral end sides of the bottom surface portion and extending parallel along a direction of movement of the toner cartridge from a detaching position to a mounting position. An engaging convex is formed on one of the side walls. The toner accepting opening is formed at a predetermined position of the bottom surface portion. An engagement portion, which the flange of the container body engages, is formed around the toner accepting opening. The engagement portion has engagement side wall portions formed at both side edges of the toner accepting opening along the direction of movement of the toner cartridge from the detaching position to the mounting position, a restraint portion formed at the depth-side edge of the toner accepting opening, and a placing portion formed at the upper end of the engagement side wall portions and the restraint portion.
When the toner cartridge is placed at the detaching position of the toner cartridge receiving mechanism and moved toward the mounting position, one of the guide portions of the shutter member contacts one of the engagement side wall portions to have its movement restrained. Upon further movement of the toner cartridge, the flange is inserted into a region defined by the engagement portion, and its front end contacts the restraint portion to restrain its movement. The shutter member is moved in the closing direction relative to the flange. As a result, the sealing member is stripped, and the toner discharge port is opened. At this time, the toner discharge port is positioned to face the upper side of the toner accepting opening of the development housing. The guided portion of the shutter member leaves the notch portion, and contacts one side surface of the flange. Thus, the support portion is elastically deformed so as to jut out away from one side portion of the flange. The toner cartridge is located at a predetermined mounting position, and the container body is placed on the placing portion. When the toner cartridge is moved from the mounting position toward the detaching position for its replacement, the stopper portion of the support portion in the jutting state engages the engaging convex to have its movement restrained. The shutter member moves relative to the flange to close the toner discharge port. When the toner cartridge further moves, the guided portion enters the notch portion of one side surface of the flange, releasing the elastic deformation of the support portion. Thus, the stopper portion disengages from the engaging convex to dissolve its interference in the moving direction. The toner cartridge is located at the toner cartridge removal position, with the shutter member closing the toner discharge port.
In the toner replenishing device described above, when the toner cartridge is located at the predetermined mounting position, the flange is positioned in the engagement portion, and the toner discharge port is brought above, and opposed to, the toner accepting opening of the development housing. With this configuration, however, a gap is formed between the flange of the container body and the engagement portion at the time of mounting. During operation of the copier, toner may leak through this gap to the outside and scatter. When the toner cartridge is removed, much toner may be carried outside while adhering to the shutter member, and scatter.
There has also been developed a toner replenishing device of a type comprising a toner cartridge mounting portion having a toner replenishment port, and a toner cartridge mounted on the mounting portion, in which the cartridge includes a container body having a toner discharge port, a shutter member is mounted on the container body so as to be movable forward and backward between a closing position at which the shutter member covers the toner discharge port and an opening position at which the shutter member opens the toner discharge port, the container body is inserted into the mounting portion up to an inserting position in an inserting direction perpendicular to the directions of forward and backward movements, and is then moved up to a mounting position in a mounting direction in the directions of forward and backward movements, whereby the cartridge is removably mounted on the mounting portion. A toner passage port is formed in the shutter member, and when the container body is located at the inserting position, the toner passage port is positioned to align with the toner replenishment port of the developing device. When the container body is moved from the inserting position to the mounting position, the shutter member is moved in an opening direction relative to the container body, whereupon the toner discharge port, the toner passage port of the shutter member, and the toner replenishment port are positioned in alignment. In this type of toner replenishing device, the container body needs to be accurately positioned in the mounting portion so that the toner discharge port, the toner passage port of the shutter member, and the toner replenishment port align. The above-described conventional type of toner replenishing device, however, is configured such that the above positioning is performed by installing a guide mechanism or the like of the container body at a site of the machine spaced from the position where the toner replenishment port is present. Hence, misalignment occurs among the toner discharge port, the toner passage port of the shutter member, and the toner replenishment port by the influence of cumulative errors of the respective members. As a result, a relatively large amount of toner is likely to adhere to their peripheral edges. In this case, replenishment of toner during operation of the copier is possible, but a relatively large amount of toner may scatter and contaminate the surroundings when the container body is removed.
An object of the present invention is to provide a novel toner replenishing device, and a toner cartridge thereof, which can prevent leakage and scatter of toner markedly effectively at the time of toner replenishment and mounting of a container body on a mounting portion or removal of the container body from the mounting portion.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a novel toner replenishing device, and a toner cartridge thereof, which can remarkably diminish misalignment among a toner discharge port of the container body, a toner passage port of a shutter member, and a toner replenishment port of a developing device.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a novel toner replenishing device, and a toner cartridge thereof, which can conspicuously improve the sealability of the toner discharge port of the container body, the toner passage port of the shutter member, and the toner replenishment port of the developing device.
According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a toner replenishing device comprising a toner cartridge mounting portion having a toner replenishment port, and a toner cartridge mounted on the mounting portion, and being configured such that the cartridge including a container body having a toner discharge port, a shutter member is mounted on the container body so as to be movable forward and backward between a closing position at which the shutter member covers the toner discharge port and an opening position at which the shutter member opens the toner discharge port, and the container body is inserted into the mounting portion up to an inserting position in an inserting direction perpendicular to the directions of the forward and backward movements, and is then moved up to a mounting position in a mounting direction in the directions of the forward and backward movements, whereby the cartridge is removably mounted on the mounting portion, and wherein
the container body is provided with a support wall portion having a lower surface at which the toner discharge port is open, a flexible toner discharge port sealing member having a toner passage port formed therein is disposed on the lower surface of the support wall portion, with the toner passage port being positioned in alignment with the toner discharge port, and the shutter member has a toner passage port, and is supported by the support wall portion and located at the closing position, with an upper surface of the shutter member being pressed against a lower surface of the toner discharge port sealing member, and is also positioned such that opposite end portions of the shutter member in the directions of the forward and backward movements protrude outwardly of opposite ends of the support wall portion,
the mounting portion includes an accepting upper surface where the toner replenishment port is open, a flexible toner replenishment port sealing member disposed on the accepting upper surface and having a toner passage port formed therein, a pair of guide wall portions disposed so as to extend in the inserting direction while interposing the toner replenishment port sealing member therebetween, and stop walls extending toward each other at downstream ends in the inserting direction of the guide wall portions, the toner passage port of the toner replenishment port sealing member being positioned in alignment with the toner replenishment port,
when the container body is moved in the inserting direction relative to the mounting portion to insert the opposite end portions of the shutter member into the corresponding guide wall portions and move the opposite end portions along them, the opposite end portions contact the corresponding stop walls to have their movement inhibited, whereby the container body is inserted and positioned at the inserting position, a lower surface of the shutter member is pressed against an upper surface of the toner replenishment port sealing member and sealed thereby, and the toner passage port of the shutter member is positioned in alignment with the toner passage port of the toner replenishment port sealing member and the toner replenishment port, then when the container body is moved in the mounting direction relative to the mounting portion, the shutter member contacts the guide wall portion on a mounting direction side to have its movement inhibited, and when the support wall portion is moved, relative to the shutter member, in the mounting direction by a predetermined stroke, the support wall portion partly contacts a front end of the stop wall on the mounting direction side to have its movement inhibited, so that the container body is located at the mounting position, and upon movement of the container body up to the mounting position, the shutter member is relatively moved from the closing position to the opening position, the toner discharge port, the toner passage port of the toner discharge port sealing member, the toner passage port of the shutter member, the toner passage port of the toner replenishment port sealing member, and the toner replenishment port are positioned in alignment, and the upper surface and lower surface of the shutter member are pressed against the toner discharge port sealing member and the toner replenishment port sealing member, respectively, and sealed thereby.
Preferably, the pair of guide wall portions include guide side walls erected from the accepting upper surface so as to extend parallel in the inserting direction with spacing therebetween, and upper walls extending toward each other perpendicularly from the upper ends of the guide side walls, the stop walls are formed so as to extend toward each other perpendicularly from the downstream ends in the inserting direction of the guide side walls, the overall height of the guide wall portion disposed on the mounting direction side is lower than the overall height of the other guide wall portion, and channel-shaped guide grooves having open ends facing each other are formed by the guide wall portions on the accepting upper surface.
In the guide wall portion disposed on the mounting direction side, it is preferred that a corner at which the upper surface and the front end surface of the upper wall cross is formed in a curved surface and a corner at which the upper wall and the guide side wall cross is formed in a curved surface.
Preferably, the container body of the toner cartridge includes a front side wall, and a bottom wall formed in an upper end portion of the front side wall and having a toner transport path formed inside and having the toner discharge port formed in one end portion thereof in a longitudinal direction, a toner discharge portion having a support wall portion integrally formed so as to extend forwardly horizontally from the upper end portion of the front side wall and extend along the lower surface of the bottom wall is disposed in one end portion in the longitudinal direction of the container body and in one end portion of the toner transport path, the toner discharge port is disposed so as to be open at the lower surface of the support wall portion, channel-shaped guide grooves having open ends facing each other are formed by guide side walls and support flanges at opposite ends in a width direction of the support wall portion, the guide side walls being formed so as to extend from one end toward the other end in the longitudinal direction of the support wall portion over a length at a predetermined position shorter than the overall length in the longitudinal direction of the support wall portion and extending perpendicularly downwardly from the opposite ends in the width direction of the support wall portion, the support flanges extending perpendicularly toward each other from the lower ends of the guide side walls, the toner discharge port sealing member is disposed on the lower surface of the support wall portion so as to surround the peripheral edge of the toner discharge port, the longitudinal length of the support wall portion is set to be shorter than the distances between the front ends of the stop walls and the upper walls in the accepting portion, and the shutter member is supported in the support wall portion so as to be movable forward and backward in the longitudinal direction consistent with the mounting direction and a dismounting direction.
Preferably, the shutter member includes a body portion of a substantially rectangular flat plate shape and having a toner passage port formed therein, supported flanges extending horizontally in a laterally outward manner from the upper surface at opposite ends in the width direction of the body portion, and a protrusive wall extending upwardly perpendicularly from one end in the longitudinal direction of the body portion, the lower surface of each of the supported flanges is positioned substantially on the same plane as the upper surface of the body portion, the supported flanges are formed so as to extend linearly from one end toward the other end in the longitudinal direction of the body portion along the opposite ends of the body portion with the same constant width, the other end portion of the body portion protrudes by a predetermined length from the other end of each of the supported flanges, when the supported flanges are inserted into the corresponding guide grooves of the support wall portion of the container body from one end of the support wall portion and moved toward the other end of the support wall portion, and the protrusive wall contacts one end of the support wall portion to have its movement inhibited, the shutter member is supported by the guide grooves so as to be relatively movable in the longitudinal direction, with the upper surface of the shutter member elastically deforming the lower surface of the toner discharge port sealing member toward the lower surface of the support wall portion, the toner passage port in the upper surface of the body portion of the shutter member has a peripheral edge pressed against the toner discharge port sealing member and closed thereby, the toner passage port of the toner discharge port sealing member, and the toner discharge port are closed with the body portion of the shutter member, and the shutter member is located at the closing portion at which the shutter member covers the toner discharge port.
When the shutter member is mounted on the support wall portion and located at the closing position, it is preferred that the protrusive wall being one end portion of the shutter member is positioned so as to protrude longitudinally outwardly from one end of the support wall portion, and the other end portion of the body portion being the other end portion of the shutter member is positioned so as to protrude longitudinally outwardly from the other end of the support wall portion.
When the container body of the toner cartridge is placed on the placing surface of the mounting portion, the toner discharge portion of the container body is aligned with the accepting portion of the mounting portion, and then the container body is moved in the inserting direction, the protrusive wall of the shutter member protruding from one end portion of the support wall portion is inserted into the guide groove of the guide wall portion on the dismounting direction side, the other end portion of the shutter member protruding from the other end portion of the support wall portion is inserted into the guide groove of the guide wall portion on the mounting direction side, and the protrusive wall and the other end portion are moved under guidance thereby, the support flange of the support wall portion and the lower surface of the shutter member are moved while compressing and elastically deforming the toner replenishment port sealing member, when the protrusive wall and the other end portion of the shutter member are contacted with the corresponding stop walls to have their movements restrained, the support wall portion is positioned between the guide wall portions to locate the container body at the inserting position, the lower surface of the shutter member including the peripheral edge of the toner passage port is pressed against the upper surface of the toner replenishment port sealing member and sealed thereby, the upper surface of the shutter member including the peripheral edge of the toner passage port is pressed against the lower surface of the toner discharge port sealing member and sealed thereby, the toner discharge port of the support wall portion and the toner passage port of the toner discharge port sealing member are positioned with predetermined spacing from the toner replenishment port and the toner passage port of the toner replenishment port sealing member in the dismounting direction opposite to the mounting direction, and the toner passage port of the shutter member is positioned in alignment with the toner passage port of the toner replenishment port sealing member and the toner replenishment port.
Preferably, the end surface on the mounting direction side of the support flange of the support wall portion downstream in the inserting direction is positioned with predetermined spacing from the front end of the stop wall of the guide wall portion on the mounting direction side, the predetermined spacing is set to be substantially the same as the predetermined spacing between the toner discharge port of the support wall portion/the toner passage port of the toner discharge port sealing member and the toner replenishment port/the toner passage port of the toner replenishment port sealing member, and when the container body is located at the inserting position, the lower surface between the guide side walls of the support wall portion is located at a position higher by a predetermined distance than the upper surface of the upper wall of the guide wall portion on the mounting direction side.
Preferably, when the container body is moved in the mounting direction from the inserting position, the shutter member contacts the guide side wall of the guide wall portion on the mounting direction side to have its movement inhibited, whereby the support wall portion is moved in the mounting direction relative to the shutter member, with the shutter member remaining at the inserting position, and when the support wall portion is moved in the mounting direction by a predetermined stroke, the end surface on the mounting direction side of the support flange on the inserting direction side of the support wall portion contacts the front end of the stop wall of the guide wall portion on the mounting direction side, whereby the movement of the support wall portion is inhibited and the container body is located at the mounting position.
Preferably, when the container body is moved in the dismounting direction from the mounting position, the shutter member has the protrusive wall thereof contacting the guide side wall of the guide wall portion on the dismounting direction side to have its movement inhibited, and the support wall portion is moved in the dismounting direction relative to the shutter member present at the inserting position, and when the support wall portion is moved in the dismounting direction by the predetermined stroke, one end on the dismounting direction side of the support wall portion contacts the protrusive wall of the shutter member, whereby the movement of the support wall portion is inhibited and the container body and the support wall portion are returned to the inserting position, while the shutter member is moved relatively from the opening direction and located at the closing position.
According to. another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a toner cartridge to be mounted on a toner cartridge mounting portion of a toner replenishing device having a toner replenishment port, the mounting portion including an accepting upper surface where the toner replenishment port is open, a flexible toner replenishment port sealing member disposed on the accepting upper surface and having a toner passage port formed therein, a pair of guide wall portions disposed so as to extend in an inserting direction while interposing the toner replenishment port sealing member therebetween, and stop walls disposed at downstream ends in the inserting direction of the guide wall portions, the toner passage port of the toner replenishment port sealing member being positioned in alignment with the toner replenishment port, the toner cartridge including a container body having a toner discharge port, and configured such that a shutter member is mounted on the container body so as to be movable forward and backward between a closing position at which the shutter member covers the toner discharge port and an opening position at which the shutter member opens the toner discharge port, the container body is inserted into the mounting portion up to an inserting position in an inserting direction perpendicular to the directions of the forward and backward movements, and is then moved up to a mounting position in a mounting direction in the directions of the forward and backward movements, whereby the toner cartridge is removably mounted on the mounting portion, and wherein
the container body is provided with a support wall portion having a lower surface in which the toner discharge port is open, a flexible toner discharge port sealing member having a toner passage port formed therein is disposed on the lower surface of the support wall portion, with the toner passage port being positioned in alignment with the toner discharge port, the shutter member has a toner passage port, and is supported by the support wall portion and located at the closing position, with an upper surface of the shutter member being pressed against a lower surface of the toner discharge port sealing member, and is also positioned such that opposite end portions of the shutter member in the directions of the forward and backward movements protrude outwardly of opposite ends of the support wall portion.
when the container body is moved in the inserting direction relative to the mounting portion to insert the opposite end portions of the shutter member into the corresponding guide wall portions and move the opposite end portions along them, the opposite end portions contact the corresponding stop walls to have their movement inhibited, whereby the container body is inserted and positioned at the inserting position, the lower surface of the shutter member is pressed against the upper surface of the toner replenishment port sealing member and sealed thereby, and the toner passage port of the shutter member is positioned in alignment with the toner passage port of the toner replenishment port sealing member and the toner replenishment port, then when the container body is moved in the mounting direction relative to the mounting portion, the shutter member contacts the guide wall portion on the mounting direction side to have its movement inhibited, and when the support wall portion is moved, relative to the shutter member, in the mounting direction by a predetermined stroke, the support wall portion partly contacts the front end of the stop wall on the mounting direction side to have its movement inhibited, so that the container body is located at the mounting position, and upon movement of the container body up to the mounting position, the shutter member is relatively moved from the closing position to the opening position, the toner discharge port, the toner passage port of the toner discharge port sealing member, the toner passage port of the shutter member, the toner passage port of the toner replenishment port sealing member, and the toner replenishment port are positioned in alignment, and the upper surface and lower surface of the shutter member are pressed against the toner discharge port sealing member and the toner replenishment port sealing member, respectively, and sealed thereby.
Preferably, the container body includes a front side wall, and a bottom wall formed in an upper end portion of the front side wall and having a toner transport path formed inside and having the toner discharge port formed in one end portion thereof in a longitudinal direction, a toner discharge portion having a support wall portion integrally formed so as to extend forwardly horizontally from the upper end portion of the front side wall and extend along the lower surface of the bottom wall is disposed in one end portion in the longitudinal direction of the container body and in one end portion of the toner transport path, the toner discharge port is disposed so as to be open at the lower surface of the support wall portion, channel-shaped guide grooves having open ends facing each other are formed by guide side walls and support flanges at opposite ends in a width direction of the support wall portion, the guide side walls being formed so as to extend from one end toward the other end in the longitudinal direction of the support wall portion over a length at a predetermined position shorter than the overall length in the longitudinal direction of the support wall portion and extending perpendicularly downwardly from the opposite ends in the width direction of the support wall portion, the support flanges extending perpendicularly toward each other from the lower ends of the guide side walls, the toner discharge port sealing member is disposed on the lower surface of the support wall portion so as to surround the peripheral edge of the toner discharge port, the longitudinal length of the support wall portion is set to be shorter than the distances between the front ends of the stop walls and the upper walls in the mounting portion, and the shutter member is supported in the support wall portion so as to be movable forward and backward in the longitudinal direction consistent with the mounting direction and a dismounting direction.
Preferably, the shutter member includes a body portion of a substantially rectangular flat plate shape and having a toner passage port formed therein, supported flanges extending horizontally in a laterally outward manner from the upper surface at opposite ends in the width direction of the body portion, and a protrusive wall extending upwardly perpendicularly from one end in the longitudinal direction of the body portion, the lower surface of each of the supported flanges is positioned substantially on the same plane as the upper surface of the body portion, the supported flanges are formed so as to extend linearly from one end toward the other end in the longitudinal direction of the body portion along the opposite ends of the body portion with the same constant width, the other end portion of the body portion protrudes by a predetermined length from the other end of each of the supported flanges, when the supported flanges are inserted into the corresponding guide groove of the support wall portion of the container body from one end of the support wall portion and moved toward the other end of the support wall portion, and the protrusive wall contacts one end of the support wall portion to have its movement inhibited, the shutter member is supported by the guide grooves so as to be relatively movable in the longitudinal direction, with the upper surface of the shutter member elastically deforming the lower surface of the toner discharge port sealing member toward the lower surface of the support wall portion, the toner passage port in the upper surface of the body portion of the shutter member has a peripheral edge pressed against the toner discharge port sealing member and closed thereby, the toner passage port of the toner discharge port sealing member, and the toner discharge port are closed with the body portion of the shutter member, and the shutter member is located at the closing portion at which the shutter member covers the toner discharge port.
When the shutter member is mounted on the support wall portion and located at the closing position, it is preferred that the protrusive wall being one end portion of the shutter member is positioned so as to protrude longitudinally outwardly from one end of the support wall portion, and the other end portion of the body portion being the other end portion of the shutter member is positioned so as to protrude longitudinally outwardly from the other end of the support wall portion.
Preferably, when the shutter member is moved from the closing position in the opposite direction relative to the support wall portion by a predetermined stroke, the shutter member is located at the opening position at which the toner passage port of the body portion aligns with the toner passage port of the toner discharge port sealing member and the toner discharge port.